COSTIMULATORY CHIMERIC ANTIGEN RECEPTOR T CELLS TARGETING IL13R-alpha-2

ABSTRACT

Chimeric transmembrane immunoreceptors (CAR) which include an extracellular domain that includes IL-13 or a variant thereof that binds interleukin-13Rα2 (IL13Rα2), a transmembrane region, a costimulatory domain and an intracellular signaling domain are described.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/167,869, filed on May 27, 2016, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 365(c) to International Patent Application PCT/US2015/051089, filed on Sep. 18, 2015, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to provisional U.S. Patent Application 62/053,068, filed on Sep. 19, 2014, the entire contents of each which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

Tumor-specific T cell based immunotherapies, including therapies employing engineered T cells, have been investigated for anti-tumor treatment. In some cases the T cells used in such therapies do not remain active in vivo for a long enough period. In some cases, the tumor-specificity of the T cells is relatively low. Therefore, there is a need in the art for tumor-specific cancer therapies with longer term anti-tumor functioning.

Malignant gliomas (MG), which include anaplastic astrocytoma (AA-grade III) and glioblastoma (GBM-grade IV), have an incidence rate of approximately 20,000 new cases diagnosed annually in the United States. According to the American Brain Tumor Association total prevalence of individuals living with a malignant brain tumor, based on United States 2010 census data, is roughly 140,000 persons. Although MG is a rare disease, it is highly aggressive and heterogeneous with respect to its malignant behavior and nearly uniformly lethal. Current standard-of-care therapies for high-grade MG yield only short term benefits, and these brain tumors are virtually incurable. Indeed, even with modern surgical and radiotherapeutic techniques, which often exacerbate the already severe morbidities imposed by location in the central nervous system (CNS), the 5-year survival rates are quite low. Furthermore, for the majority of patients who relapse with disease, there are few therapeutic options. Thus, there is a significant need for more effective therapies, particularly for those patients that have recurred/progressed following frontline therapies, and participation of this patient population in clinical trials is warranted.

Adoptive T cell therapy (ACT) utilizing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) engineered T cells may provide a safe and effective way to reduce recurrence rates of MG, since CAR T cells can be engineered to specifically recognize antigenically-distinct tumor populations (Cartellieri et al. 2010 J Biomed Biotechnol 2010:956304; Ahmed et al. 2010 Clin Cancer Res 16:474; Sampson et al. 2014 Clin Cancer Res 20:972; Brown et al. 2013 Clin Cancer Res 2012 18:2199; Chow et al. 2013 Mol Ther 21:629), and T cells can migrate through the brain parenchyma to target and kill infiltrative malignant cells (Hong et al. 2010 Clin Cancer Res 16:4892; Brown et al. 2007 J Immunol 179:3332; Hong et al. 2010 Clin Cancer Res 16:4892; Yaghoubi 2009 Nat Clin PRact Oncol 6:53). Preclinical studies have demonstrated that IL13Rα2-targeting CAR+ T cells exhibit potent major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-independent, IL13Rα2-specific cytolytic activity against both stem-like and differentiated glioma cells, and induce regression of established glioma xenografts in vivo (Kahlon et al. 2004 Cancer Res 64:9160; Brown et al. 2012 Clin Cancer Res 18:2199).

SUMMARY

Described herein are chimeric transmembrane immunoreceptors (chimeric antigen receptors or “CARs”) which comprise an extracellular domain, a transmembrane region and an intracellular signaling domain. The extracellular domain is made up of an IL-13 ligand that binds interleukin-13Rα2 (IL13Rα2) and, optionally, a spacer, comprising, for example a portion human Fc domain. The transmembrane portion includes a CD4 transmembrane domain, a CD8 transmembrane domain, a CD28 transmembrane domain, a CD3 transmembrane domain or a 4IBB transmembrane domain. The intracellular signaling domain includes the signaling domain from the zeta chain of the human CD3 complex (CD3ζ) and one or more costimulatory domains, e.g., a 4-1BB costimulatory domain. The extracellular domain enables the CAR, when expressed on the surface of a T cell, to direct T cell activity to those cells expressing IL13Rα2, a receptor expressed on the surface of tumor cells, including glioma. Importantly, the IL13Rα2 binding portion of the CAR includes an amino acid modification, such as an E13Y mutation, that increases binding specificity. The inclusion of a costimulatory domain, such as the 4-1BB (CD137) costimulatory domain in series with CD3 in the intracellular region enables the T cell to receive co-stimulatory signals. T cells, for example, patient-specific, autologous T cells can be engineered to express the CARs described herein and the engineered cells can be expanded and used in ACT. Various T cell subsets can be used. In addition, the CAR can be expressed in other immune cells such as NK cells. Where a patient is treated with an immune cell expressing a CAR described herein the cell can be an autologous or allogenic T cell. In some cases the cells used are CD4+ and CD8+ central memory T cells (T_(CM)), which are CD45RO+CD62L+, and the use of such cells can improve long-term persistence of the cells after adoptive transfer compared to the use of other types of patient-specific T cells.

Described herein is a nucleic acid molecule encoding a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)r, wherein the chimeric antigen receptor comprises: human IL-13 or a variant thereof having 1-10 (e.g., 1 or 2) amino acid modifications; a transmembrane domain selected from: a CD4 transmembrane domain or variant thereof having 1-10 (e.g., 1 or 2) amino acid modifications, a CD8 transmembrane domain or variant thereof having 1-10 (e.g., 1 or 2) amino acid modifications, a CD28 transmembrane domain or a variant thereof having 1-10 (e.g., 1 or 2) amino acid modifications, and a CD3 transmembrane domain or a variant thereof having 1-10 (e.g., 1 or 2) amino acid modifications; a costimulatory domain; and CD3 ζ signaling domain of a variant thereof having 1-10 (e.g., 1 or 2) amino acid modifications.

In various embodiments the costimulatory domain is selected from the group consisting of: a CD28 costimulatory domain or a variant thereof having 1-10 (e.g., 1 or 2) amino acid modifications, a 4-IBB costimulatory domain or a variant thereof having 1-10 (e.g., 1 or 2) amino acid modifications and an OX40 costimulatory domain or a variant thereof having 1-10 (e.g., 1 or 2) amino acid modifications. In certain embodiments, a 4IBB costimulatory domain or a variant thereof having 1-10 (e.g., 1 or 2) amino acid modifications in present.

Additional embodiment the CAR comprises: a variant of a human IL13 having 1-10 amino acid modification that increase binding specificity for IL13Rα2 versus IL13Rα1; the human IL-13 or variant thereof is an IL-13 variant comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:3 with 1 to 5 amino acid modifications, provided that the amino acid at position 11 of SEQ ID NO:3 other than E; two different costimulatory domains selected from the group consisting of: a CD28 costimulatory domain or a variant thereof having 1-10 (e.g., 1 or 2) amino acid modifications, a 4IBB costimulatory domain or a variant thereof having 1-10 (e.g., 1 or 2) amino acid modifications and an OX40 costimulatory domain or a variant thereof having 1-10 (e.g., 1 or 2) amino acid modifications; two different costimulatory domains selected from the group consisting of: a CD28 costimulatory domain or a variant thereof having 1-2 amino acid modifications, a 4IBB costimulatory domain or a variant thereof having 1-2 amino acid modifications and an OX40 costimulatory domain or a variant thereof having 1-2 amino acid modifications; human IL-13 or a variant thereof having 1-2 amino acid modifications; a transmembrane domain selected from: a CD4 transmembrane domain or variant thereof having 1-2 amino acid modifications, a CD8 transmembrane domain or variant thereof having 1-2 amino acid modifications, a CD28 transmembrane domain or a variant thereof having 1-2 amino acid modifications, and a CD3ζ transmembrane domain or a variant thereof having 1-2 amino acid modifications; a costimulatory domain; and CD3ζ signaling domain of a variant thereof having 1-2 amino acid modifications; a spacer region located between the IL-13 or variant thereof and the transmembrane domain (e.g., the spacer region comprises an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 4, 14-20, 50 and 52); the spacer comprises an IgG hinge region; the spacer region comprises 10-150 amino acids; the 4-1BB signaling domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:6; the CD3ζ signaling domain comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:7; and a linker of 3 to 15 amino acids that is located between the costimulatory domain and the CD3 ζ signaling domain or variant thereof. In certain embodiments where there are two costimulatory domains, one is an 4-IBB costimulatory domain and the other a costimulatory domain selected from: CD28 and CD28gg

In some embodiments: nucleic acid molecule expresses a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs: 10, 31-48 and 52; the chimeric antigen receptor comprises a IL-13/IgG4/CD4t/41-BB region comprising the amino acid of SEQ ID NO:11 and a CD3 ζ signaling domain comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:7; and the chimeric antigen receptor comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NOs: 10, 31-48 and 52.

Also disclosed is a population of human T cells transduced by a vector comprising an expression cassette encoding a chimeric antigen receptor, wherein chimeric antigen receptor comprises: human IL-13 or a variant thereof having 1-10 amino acid modifications; a transmembrane domain selected from: a CD4 transmembrane domain or variant thereof having 1-10 amino acid modifications, a CD8 transmembrane domain or variant thereof having 1-10 amino acid modifications, a CD28 transmembrane domain or a variant thereof having 1-10 amino acid modifications, and a CD3ζ transmembrane domain or a variant thereof having 1-10 amino acid modifications; a costimulatory domain; and CD3 ζ signaling domain of a variant thereof having 1-10 amino acid modifications. In various embodiments: the population of human T cells comprise a vector expressing a chimeric antigen receptor comprising an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs: 10, 31-48 and 52; the population of human T cells are comprises of central memory T cells (Tcm cells) (e.g., at least 20%, 30%, 40%, 50% 60%, 70%, 80% of the cells are Tcm cells; at least 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35% of the Tcm cells are CD4+ and at least 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35% of the Tcm cells are CD8+ cells).

Also described is a method of treating cancer in a patient comprising administering a population of autologous or allogeneic human T cells (e.g., autologous or allogenic T cells comprising Tcm cells, e.g., at least 20%, 30%, 40%, 50% 60%, 70%, 80% of the cells are Tcm cells; at least 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35% of the Tcm cells are CD4+ and at least 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35% of the Tcm cells are CD8+ cells) transduced by a vector comprising an expression cassette encoding a chimeric antigen receptor, wherein chimeric antigen receptor comprises an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs: 10, 31-48 and 52. In various embodiments: the population of human T cells comprise central memory T cells; the cancer is glioblastoma; and the transduced human T cells where prepared by a method comprising obtaining T cells from the patient, treating the T cells to isolate central memory T cells, and transducing at least a portion of the central memory cells to with a viral vector comprising an expression cassette encoding a chimeric antigen receptor, wherein chimeric antigen receptor comprises an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs: 10, 31-48 and 52.

Also described is: a nucleic acid molecule encoding an polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence that is at least 95% identical to an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO:10 and SEQ ID NOs: 10, 31-48 and 52; a nucleic acid molecule encoding an polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence that is identical to an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 10, 31-48 and 52 except for the presence of no more than 5 amino acid substitutions, deletions or insertions; a nucleic acid molecule encoding an polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence that is identical to an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO:10 and SEQ ID NOs: 10, 31-48 and 52 except for the presence of no more than 5 amino acid substitutions; and a nucleic acid molecule encoding an polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence that is identical to an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NO:10 and SEQ ID NOs: 10, 31-48 and 52 except for the presence of no more than 2 amino acid substitutions.

Certain CAR described herein, for example, the IL13(EQ)BBζCAR and the IL13(EQ)CD28-BBζ CAR, have certain beneficial characteristics compared to certain other IL13-targeted CAR. For example, they have improved selectivity for IL13Rα, elicit lower Th2 cytokine production, particularly lower IL13 production.

T cells expressing a CAR targeting IL13Rα2 can be useful in treatment of cancers such as glioblastoma, as well as other cancer that expresses IL13Rα2 which include but are not limited to medulloblastoma, breast cancer, head and neck cancer, kidney cancer, ovarian cancer and Kaposi's sarcoma. Thus, this disclosure includes methods for treating cancer using T cells expressing a CAR described herein.

This disclosure also nucleic acid molecules that encode any of the CARs described herein (e.g., vectors that include a nucleic acid sequence encoding one of the CARs) and isolated T lymphocytes that express any of the CARs described herein.

The CAR described herein can include a spacer region located between the IL13 domain and the transmembrane domain. A variety of different spacers can be used. Some of them include at least portion of a human Fc region, for example a hinge portion of a human Fc region or a CH3 domain or variants thereof. Table 1 below provides various spacers that can be used in the CARs described herein.

TABLE 1 Examples of Spacers Name Length Sequence a3   3 aa AAA linker  10 aa GGGSSGGGSG (SEQ ID NO: 14) IgG4  12 aa ESKYGPPCPPCP hinge (SEQ ID NO: 15) (S → P) (S228P) IgG4  12 aa ESKYGPPCPSCP hinge (SEQ ID NO: 52) IgG4  22 aa ESKYGPPCPPCPGGGSSGGGSG hinge + (SEQ ID NO: 16) linker CD28  39 aa IEVMYPPPYLDNEKSNGTIIHVKGKHL hinge CPSPLFPGPSKP (SEQ ID NO: 17) CD8  48 aa AKPTTTPAPRPPTPAPTIASQPLSLRPE hinge- ACRPAAGGAVHTRGLDFACD 48aa (SEQ ID NO: 18) CD8  45 aa TTTPAPRPPTPAPTIASQPLSLRPEACR hinge- PAAGGAVHTRGLDFACD 45aa (SEQ ID NO: 19) IgG4 129 aa ESKYGPPCPPCPGGGSSGGGSGGQPR (HL-CH3) EPQVYTLPPSQEEMTKNQVSLTCLVK GFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPP VLDSDGSFFLYSRLTVDKSRWQEGNV FSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSLGK (SEQ ID NO: 20) IgG4 229 aa ESKYGPPCPSCPAPEFEGGPSVFLFPPK (L235E, PKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSQEDPE N297Q) VQFNWYVDGVEVHQAKTKPREEQFN STYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCK VSNKGLPSSIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVY TLPPSQEEMTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPS DIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSD GSFFLYSRLTVDKSRWQEGNVFSCSV MHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSLGK (SEQ ID NO: 4) IgG4 229 aa ESKYGPPCPPCPAPEFEGGPSVFLFPPK (S228P, PKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSQEDPE L235E, VQFNWYVDGVEVHQAKTKPREEQFN N297Q) STYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCK VSNKGLPSSIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVY TLPPSQEEMTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPS DIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSD GSFFLYSRLTVDKSRWQEGNVFSCSV MHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSLGK (SEQ ID NO: 51) IgG4 107 aa GQPREPQVYTLPPSQEEMTKNQVSLT (CH3) CLVKGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYK TTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSRLTVDKSRWQ EGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLS LGK (SEQ ID NO: 50) Some spacer regions include all or part of an immunoglobulin (e.g., IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4) hinge region, i.e., the sequence that falls between the CH1 and CH2 domains of an immunoglobulin, e.g., an IgG4 Fc hinge or a CD8 hinge. Some spacer regions include an immunoglobulin CH3 domain or both a CH3 domain and a CH2 domain. The immunoglobulin derived sequences can include one or more amino acid modifications, for example, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 substitutions, e.g., substitutions that reduce off-target binding.

An “amino acid modification” refers to an amino acid substitution, insertion, and/or deletion in a protein or peptide sequence. An “amino acid substitution” or “substitution” refers to replacement of an amino acid at a particular position in a parent peptide or protein sequence with another amino acid. A substitution can be made to change an amino acid in the resulting protein in a non-conservative manner (i.e., by changing the codon from an amino acid belonging to a grouping of amino acids having a particular size or characteristic to an amino acid belonging to another grouping) or in a conservative manner (i.e., by changing the codon from an amino acid belonging to a grouping of amino acids having a particular size or characteristic to an amino acid belonging to the same grouping). Such a conservative change generally leads to less change in the structure and function of the resulting protein. The following are examples of various groupings of amino acids: 1) Amino acids with nonpolar R groups: Alanine, Valine, Leucine, Isoleucine, Proline, Phenylalanine, Tryptophan, Methionine; 2) Amino acids with uncharged polar R groups: Glycine, Serine, Threonine, Cysteine, Tyrosine, Asparagine, Glutamine; 3) Amino acids with charged polar R groups (negatively charged at pH 6.0): Aspartic acid, Glutamic acid; 4) Basic amino acids (positively charged at pH 6.0): Lysine, Arginine, Histidine (at pH 6.0). Another grouping may be those amino acids with phenyl groups: Phenylalanine, Tryptophan, and Tyrosine.

In certain embodiments, the spacer is derived from an IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, or IgG4 that includes one or more amino acid residues substituted with an amino acid residue different from that present in an unmodified spacer. The one or more substituted amino acid residues are selected from, but not limited to one or more amino acid residues at positions 220, 226, 228, 229, 230, 233, 234, 235, 234, 237, 238, 239, 243, 247, 267, 268, 280, 290, 292, 297, 298, 299, 300, 305, 309, 218, 326, 330, 331, 332, 333, 334, 336, 339, or a combination thereof. In this numbering scheme, described in greater detail below, the first amino acid in the IgG4(L235E,N297Q) spacer in Table 1 is 219 and the first amino acid in the IgG4(HL-CH3) spacer in Table 1 is 219 as is the first amino acid in the IgG hinge sequence and the IgG4 hinge linker (HL) sequence in Table 1

In some embodiments, the modified spacer is derived from an IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, or IgG4 that includes, but is not limited to, one or more of the following amino acid residue substitutions: C220S, C226S, S228P, C229S, P230S, E233P, V234A, L234V, L234F, L234A, L235A, L235E, G236A, G237A, P238S, S239D, F243L, P2471, S267E, H268Q, S280H, K290S, K290E, K290N, R292P, N297A, N297Q, S298A, S298G, S298D, S298V, T299A, Y300L, V305I, V309L, E318A, K326A, K326W, K326E, L328F, A330L, A330S, A331S, P331S, 1332E, E333A, E333S, E333S, K334A, A339D, A339Q, P396L, or a combination thereof.

In certain embodiments, the modified spacer is derived from IgG4 region that includes one or more amino acid residues substituted with an amino acid residue different from that present in an unmodified region. The one or more substituted amino acid residues are selected from, but not limited to, one or more amino acid residues at positions 220, 226, 228, 229, 230, 233, 234, 235, 234, 237, 238, 239, 243, 247, 267, 268, 280, 290, 292, 297, 298, 299, 300, 305, 309, 218, 326, 330, 331, 332, 333, 334, 336, 339, or a combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the modified spacer is derived from an IgG4 region that includes, but is not limited to, one or more of the following amino acid residue substitutions: 220S, 226S, 228P, 229S, 230S, 233P, 234A, 234V, 234F, 234A, 235A, 235E, 236A, 237A, 238S, 239D, 243L, 2471, 267E, 268Q, 280H, 290S, 290E, 290N, 292P, 297A, 297Q, 298A, 298G, 298D, 298V, 299A, 300L, 305I, 309L, 318A, 326A, 326W, 326E, 328F, 330L, 330S, 331S, 331S, 332E, 333A, 333S, 333S, 334A, 339D, 339Q, 396L, or a combination thereof, wherein the amino acid in the unmodified spacer is substituted with the above identified amino acids at the indicated position.

For amino acid positions in immunoglobulin discussed herein, numbering is according to the EU index or EU numbering scheme (Kabat et al. 1991 Sequences of Proteins of Immunological Interest, 5th Ed., United States Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, hereby entirely incorporated by reference). The EU index or EU index as in Kabat or EU numbering scheme refers to the numbering of the EU antibody (Edelman et al. 1969 Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 63:78-85).

A variety of transmembrane domains can be used in CAR directed against IL13Rα2. Table 2 includes examples of suitable transmembrane domains. Where a spacer domain is present, the transmembrane domain is located carboxy terminal to the spacer domain.

TABLE 2 Examples of Transmembrane Domains Name Accession Length Sequence CD3z J04132.1 21 aa LCYLLDGILFIYGVI LTALFL (SEQ ID NO: 21) CD28 NM_006139 27 aa FWVLVVVGGVLACYS LLVTVAFIIFWV (SEQ ID NO: 22) CD28 NM_006139 28 aa MFWVLVVVGGVLACY (M) SLLVTVAFIIFWV (SEQ ID NO: 22) CD4 M35160 22 aa MALIVLGGVAGLLLF IGLGIFF (SEQ ID NO: 5) CD8tm NM_001768 21 aa IYIWAPLAGTCGVLL LSLVIT (SEQ ID NO: 23) CD8tm2 NM_001768 23 aa IYIWAPLAGTCGVLL LSLVITLY (SEQ ID NO: 24) CD8tm3 NM_001768 24 aa IYIWAPLAGTCGVLL LSLVITLYC (SEQ ID NO: 25) 41BB NM_001561 27 aa IISFFLALTSTALLF LLFF LTLRFSVV (SEQ ID NO: 26)

Many of the CAR described herein include one or more (e.g., two) costimulatory domains. The costimulatory domain(s) are located between the transmembrane domain and the CD3ζ signaling domain. Table 3 includes examples of suitable costimulatory domains together with the sequence of the CD3ζ signaling domain.

TABLE 3 Examples of Costimulatory Domains Name Accession Length Sequence CD3ζ J04132.1 113 aa RVKFSRSADAPAYQQGQNQLYNE LNLGRREEYDVLDKRRGRDPEMG GKPRRKNPQEGLYNELQKDKMAE AYSEIGMKGERRRGKGHDGLYQG LSTATKDTYDALHMQALPPR CD28 NM_006139  42 aa RSKRSRLLHSDYMNMTPRRPGPT RKHYQPYAPPRDFAAYRS (SEQ ID NO: 27) CD28gg* NM_006139  42 aa RSKRSRGGHSDYMNMTPRRPGPT RKHYQPYAPPRDFAAYRS (SEQ ID NO: 28) 41BB NM_001561  42 aa KRGRKKLLYIFKQPFMRPVQTTQ EEDGCSCRFPEEEEGGCEL (SEQ ID NO: 29) OX40  42 aa ALYLLRRDQRLPPDAHKPPGGGS FRTPIQEEQADAHSTLAKI  (SEQ ID NO: 30)

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic depiction of IL13(E13Y)-zetakine CAR (Left) composed of the IL13Rα2-specific human IL-13 variant (huIL-13(E13Y)), human IgG4 Fc spacer (huγ₄F_(c)), human CD4 transmembrane (huCD4 tm), and human CD3ζ chain cytoplasmic (huCD3ζ cyt) portions as indicated. Also depicted is a IL13(EQ)BBζ CAR which is the same as the IL13(E13Y)-zetakine with the exception of the two point mutations, L235E and N297Q indicated in red, that are located in the CH2 domain of the IgG4 spacer, and the addition of a costimulatory 4-1BB cytoplasmic domain (4-1BB cyt).

FIGS. 2A-C depict certain vectors an open reading frames. A is a diagram of the cDNA open reading frame of the 2670 nucleotide IL13(EQ)BBZ-T2ACD19t construct, where the IL13Rα2-specific ligand IL13(E13Y), IgG4(EQ) Fc hinge, CD4 transmembrane, 4-1BB cytoplasmic signaling, three-glycine linker, and CD3ζ cytoplasmic signaling domains of the IL13(EQ)BBZ CAR, as well as the T2A ribosome skip and truncated CD19 sequences are indicated. The human GM-CSF receptor alpha and CD19 signal sequences that drive surface expression of the IL13(EQ)BBζ CAR and CD19t are also indicated. B is a diagram of the sequences flanked by long terminal repeats (indicated by ‘R’) that will integrate into the host genome. C is a map of the IL13(EQ)BBZ-T2A-CD19t_epHIV7 plasmid.

FIG. 3 depicts the construction of pHIV7.

FIG. 4 depicts the elements of pHIV7.

FIG. 5 depicts a production scheme for IL13(EQ)BBζ/CD19t+T_(CM).

FIGS. 6A-C depicts the results of flow cytometric analysis of surface transgene and T cell marker expression. IL13(EQ)BBζ/CD19t+T_(CM) HD006.5 and HD187.1 were co-stained with anti-IL13-PE and anti-CD8-FITC to detect CD8+ CAR+ and CD4+(i.e., CD8 negative) CAR+ cells (A), or anti-CD19-PE and anti-CD4-FITC to detect CD4+CD19t+ and CD8+(i.e., CD4 negative) CAR+ cells (B). IL13(EQ)BBζ/CD19t+T_(CM) HD006.5 and HD187.1 stained with fluorochromeconjugatedanti-CD3, TCR, CD4, CD8, CD62L and CD28 (grey histograms) or isotype controls (black histograms) (C). In all cases the percentages based on viable lymphocytes (DAPI negative) stained above isotype.

FIGS. 7A-B depict the in vitro functional characterization of IL13Rα2-specific effector function of IL13(EQ)BBZ+ T_(CM). IL13(EQ)BBZ/CD19t+T_(CM)HD006.5 and HD187.1 were used as effectors in a 6-hour ⁵¹Cr release assay using a 10:1 E:T ratio based on CD19t expression. The IL13Rα2-positive tumor targets were K562 engineered to express IL13Rα2 (K562-IL13Rα2) and primary glioma line PBT030-2, and the IL13Rα2-negative tumor target control was K562 parental line (A). IL13(EQ)BBZ/CD19t+T_(CM) HD006.5 and HD187.1 were evaluated for antigen-dependent cytokine production following overnight co-culture at a 10:1 E:T ratio with IL13Rα2-positive and negative targets. Cytokine levels were measured using the Bio-Plex Pro Human Cytokine TH1/TH2 Assay kit and INF-γ are reported (B).

FIGS. 8A-C depict the result of studies demonstrating the regression of established glioma tumor xenografts after adoptive transfer of IL13(EQ)BBζ/CD19t+T_(CM). EGFP-ffLuc+ PBT030-2 tumor cells (1×10⁵) were stereotactically implanted into the right forebrain of NSG mice. On day 5, mice received either 2×10⁶ IL13(EQ)BBζ/CD19t+T_(CM) (1.1×10⁶ CAR+; n=6), 2×10⁶ mock TCM (no CAR; n=6) or PBS (n=6). Representative mice from each group showing relative tumor burden using Xenogen Living Image (A). Quantification of ffLuc flux (photons/sec) shows that IL13(EQ)BBζ/CD19t+T_(CM) induce tumor regression as compared to mock-transduced T_(CM) and PBS (# p<0.02, *p<0.001, repeated measures ANOVA) (B). Kaplan Meier survival curve (n=6 per group) demonstrating significantly improved survival (p=0.0008; log-rank test) for mice treated with IL13(EQ)BBζ/CD19t+T_(CM) (C)

FIGS. 9A-C depict the results of studies comparing ant-tumor efficacy of IL13(EQ)BBZ T_(CM) and IL13-zetakine CTL clones. EGFP-ffLuc+ PBT030-2 TSs (1×10⁵) were stereotactically implanted into the right forebrain of NSG mice. On day 8, mice received either 1.6×10⁶ mock T_(CM) (no CAR), 1.0×10⁶ CAR+IL13(EQ)BBζ T_(CM) (1.6×10⁶ total T cells; 63% CAR), 1.0×10⁶ IL13-zetakine CD8+ CTL cl. 2D7 (clonal CAR+), or no treatment (n=6 per group). Representative mice from each group showing relative tumor burden using Xenogen Living Image (A). Linear regression lines of natural log of ffLuc flux (photons/sec) over time, P-values are for group by time interaction comparisons (B). Kaplan Meier survival analysis (n=6 per group) demonstrate significantly improved survival (p=0.02; log-rank test) for mice treated with IL13(EQ)BBζ T_(CM) as compared to IL13-zetakine CD8+ CTL cl. 2D7 (C).

FIGS. 10A-C depict the results of studies comparing ant-tumor efficacy of IL13(EQ)BBζ T_(CM) and IL13-zetakine CTL clones. EGFP-ffLuc+ PBT030-2 TSs (1×10⁵) were stereotactically implanted into the right forebrain of NSG mice. On day 8, mice received either 1.3×10⁶ mock T_(CM) (no CAR; n=6), 1.0, 0.3 or 0.1×10⁶ CAR+IL13(EQ)BBζ T_(CM) (78% CAR+; n=6-7), 1.0, 0.3 or 0.1×10⁶ IL13-zetakine CD8+ CTL cl. 2D7 (clonal CAR+; n=6-7), or no treatment (n=5). Xenogen imaging of representative mice from each group showing relative tumor burden (A). Linear regression lines of natural log of ffLuc flux (photons/sec) shows that IL13(EQ)BBζ T_(CM) achieve superior tumor regression as compared to first-generation IL13-zetakine CTL cl. 2D7, mock T_(CM) and tumor only (B). Average flux per group at day 27 post tumor injection demonstrating that the 0.1×10⁶ IL13(EQ)BBζ T_(CM) dose outperforms the ten-fold higher 1.0×10⁶ dose of IL13-zetakine CD8+ CTL cl. 2D7 (p=0.043; Welch two sample t-test) (C).

FIG. 11 depicts the results of studies demonstrating IL13(EQ)BBζ Tcm display improved persistence compared IL13-zetakine CTL clones. CD3 immunohistochemistry evaluating T cell persistence at the tumor site 7-days post T cell infusion. Significant numbers of T cells are detected for IL13(EQ)BBζ Tcm (top panel). By contrast, very few viable CD3+IL13-zetakine T cells are detected (bottom panel).

FIGS. 12A-D depict the results of experiments comparing route of CAR+ T cell delivery (i.c. versus i.v.) for large established tumors. EGFP-ffLuc+ PBT030-2 TSs (1×10⁵) were implanted into the right forebrain of NSG mice. On days 19 and 26, mice were injected i.v. through the tail vein with either 5×10⁶ CAR+IL13(EQ)BBζ+ Tcm (11.8×10⁶ total cells; n=4), or mock Tcm (11.8×10⁶ cells; n=4). Alternatively, on days 19, 22, 26 and 29 mice were injected i.c. with either 1×10⁶ CAR+IL13(EQ)BBζ+ Tcm (2.4×10⁶ total cells; n=4), or mock Tcm (2.4×10⁶ cells; n=5). Average ffLuc flux (photons/sec) over time shows that i.c. delivered IL13(EQ)BBζ Tcm mediates tumor regression of day 19 tumors. By comparison, i.v. delivered T cells do not shown reduction in tumor burden as compared to untreated or mock Tcm controls (A). Kaplan Meier survival curve demonstrates improved survival for mice treated i.c. IL13(EQ)BBZ Tcm as compared to mice treated with i.v. administered CAR+ Tcm (p=0.0003 log rank test) (B). Representative H&E and CD3 IHC of mice treated i.v. (C) versus i.c. (D) with IL13(EQ)BBZ+ Tcm. CD3+ T cells were only detected in the i.c. treated group, with no CD3+ cells detected in the tumor or surrounding brain parenchyma for i.v. treated mice.

FIGS. 13A-B depict the results of studies showing that CAR+ T cell injected intracranially, either intratumoral (i.c.t.) or intraventricular (i.c.v.), can traffic to tumors on the opposite hemisphere. EGFP-ffLuc+ PBT030-2 TSs (1×105) were stereotactically implanted into the right and left forebrains of NSG mice. On day 6, mice were injected i.c. at the right tumor site with 1.0×106 IL13(EQ)BBζ+ Tcm (1.6×106 total cells; 63% CAR; n=4). Schematic of multifocal glioma experimental model (A). CD3 IHC showing T cells infiltrating both the right and left tumor sites (B).

FIGS. 14A-C depict the results of a series of studies evaluating costimulatory domains of IL13Rα2-specific CAR. Schematic of IL13Rα2-specific CAR constructs comparing various intracellular endo/signaling domains, including the first generation CD3z CAR lacking costimulation, versus second generation CARs incorporating either 4-1BB or CD28, versus a third generation CAR containing both CD28 and 41BB. All CAR cassettes also contain the T2A ribosomal skip and truncated CD19 (CD19t) sequences as a marker for transduced cells (A). CD4 and CD8 TCM were lentivirally transduced and CAR-expressing T cells were immunomagnetically enriched via anti-CD19. CD19 and IL13 (i.e., CAR) expression levels as measured by flow cytometry (B). Stability of each CAR construct was determined by dividing the CAR (IL13) mean flourescence intensity (MFI) by that of the transduction marker (CD19t) (C). The 4-1BB containing CARs demonstrated the lowest expression levels as compared to the CD19t transduction marker.

FIGS. 15A-B depict the results of studies demonstrating that IL13Rα2-specific CAR containing the 4-1BB costimulatory domain produce less Th1 and Th2 cytokines. The ability of the indicated mock-transduced or CAR-expressing T cells to kill IL13Rα2-expressing PBT030-2 tumor cell targets was determined in a 4-hour 51Cr-release assay at the indicated effector:target ratios. Mean % chromium release+S.D. of triplicate wells are depicted (A). As expected, mock-transduced T cells did not efficiently lyse the targets. In contrast, all CAR-expressing T cells lysed the tumor cells in a similar manner. The indicated mock-transduced or CAR-expressing T cells were co-cultured overnight with IL13Rα2-expressing PBT030-2 tumor cells at a 10:1 ratio and supernatants were analyzed for IL-13 and IFN-γ levels by cytometric bead array (B). Means+S.D. of triplicate wells are depicted. Interestingly, T cells expressing the zeta, 41BB-zeta or CD28-41BB-zeta CARs exhibited lower antigen-stimulated cytokine production than T cells expressing the CD28-zeta CAR.

FIGS. 16A-C depict the results of a series of studies of the in vivo efficacy of IL13Rα2-specific CARs. NSG mice received an intracranial injection of ffLuc+ PBT030-2 tumor cells on day 0, and were randomized into 6 groups (n=9-10 mice per group) for i.c. treatment with either PBS (Tumor Only), mock-transduced T cells or T cells expressing the indicated IL13Rα2-specific CAR on day 8. Quantitative bioluminescence imaging was then carried out to monitor tumor growth over time. Bioluminescence images for representative mice in each group (A). Mean+S.E. of total flux levels of luciferase activity over time in each group (B). Flux levels for each mouse at Day 27. All groups treated with IL13Rα2-specific CAR T cells, except those treated with T cells expressing the CD28-CAR, show statistically-significant reduction in tumor volume compared to mice treated with mock-transduced T cells (C)

FIGS. 17A-B depict the amino acid sequence of IL13(EQ)BBζ/CD19t+(SEQ ID NO:10).

FIGS. 18A-0 depict a sequence comparison of IL13(EQ)41BBζ[IL13{EQ}41BK T2A-CD19t_epHIV7; pF02630] (SEQ ID NO:12) and CD19Rop_epHIV7 (pJ01683) (SEQ ID NO:13).

FIG. 19 depicts the amino acid sequence of IL13(EmY)-CD8h3-CD8tm2-41BB Zeta (SEQ ID NO:31 with GMSCFRa signal peptide; SEQ ID NO:39 without GMSCFRa signal peptide).

FIG. 20 depicts the amino acid sequence of IL13(EmY)-CD8h3-CD28tm-CD28gg-41BB-Zeta (SEQ ID NO:32 with GMSCFRa signal peptide; SEQ ID NO:40 without GMSCFRa signal peptide).

FIG. 21 depicts the amino acid sequence of IL13(EmY)-IgG4(HL-CH3)-CD4tm-41BB-Zeta (SEQ ID NO:33 with GMSCFRa signal peptide; SEQ ID NO:41 without GMSCFRa signal peptide).

FIG. 22 depicts the amino acid sequence of IL13(EmY)-IgG4(L235E,N297Q)-CD8tm-41BB-Zeta (SEQ ID NO:34 with GMSCFRa signal peptide; SEQ ID NO:42 without GMSCFRa signal peptide).

FIG. 23 depicts the amino acid sequence of IL13(EmY)-Linker-CD28tm-CD28gg-41BB-Zeta (SEQ ID NO:35 with GMSCFRa signal peptide; SEQ ID NO:43 without GMSCFRa signal peptide).

FIG. 24 depicts the amino acid sequence of IL13(EmY)-HL-CD28m-CD28gg-41BB-Zeta (SEQ ID NO:36 with GMSCFRa signal peptide; SEQ ID NO:44 without GMSCFRa signal peptide).

FIG. 25 depicts the amino acid sequence of IL13(EmY)-IgG4(HL-CH3)-CD28tm-CD28gg-41BB-Zeta (SEQ ID NO:37 with GMSCFRa signal peptide; SEQ ID NO:45 without GMSCFRa signal peptide).

FIG. 26 depicts the amino acid sequence of IL13(EmY) IgG4(L235E,N297Q)-CD28tm-CD28gg-41BB-Zeta (SEQ ID NO:38 with GMSCFRa signal peptide; SEQ ID NO:46 without GMSCFRa signal peptide).

FIG. 27 depicts the amino acid sequence of IL13(EmY)-CD8h3-CD8tm-41BB Zeta (SEQ ID NO:47 with GMSCFRa signal peptide; SEQ ID NO:48 without GMSCFRa signal peptide).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Described below is the structure, construction and characterization of various IL13Rα2-specific chimeric antigen receptors. A chimeric antigen (CAR) is a recombinant biomolecule that contains, at a minimum, an extracellular recognition domain, a transmembrane region, and an intracellular signaling domain. The term “antigen,” therefore, is not limited to molecules that bind antibodies, but to any molecule that can bind specifically to a target. For example, a CAR can include a ligand that specifically binds a cell surface receptor. The extracellular recognition domain (also referred to as the extracellular domain or simply by the recognition element which it contains) comprises a recognition element that specifically binds to a molecule present on the cell surface of a target cell. The transmembrane region anchors the CAR in the membrane. The intracellular signaling domain comprises the signaling domain from the zeta chain of the human CD3 complex and optionally comprises one or more costimulatory signaling domains. CARs can both to bind antigen and transduce T cell activation, independent of MHC restriction. Thus, CARs are “universal” immunoreceptors which can treat a population of patients with antigen-positive tumors irrespective of their HLA genotype. Adoptive immunotherapy using T lymphocytes that express a tumor-specific CAR can be a powerful therapeutic strategy for the treatment of cancer.

One IL13Rα2-specific CAR described herein is referred to as IL13(EQ)BBζ. This CAR includes a variety of important features including: a IL13α2 ligand having an amino acid change that improves specificity of biding to IL13α2; the domain of CD137 (4-1BB) in series with CD3ζ to provide beneficial costimulation; and an IgG4 Fc region that is mutated at two sites within the CH2 region (L235E; N297Q) in a manner that reduces binding by Fc receptors (FcRs). Other CAR described herein contain a second costimulatory domain.

In some cases the CAR described herein, including the IL13(EQ)BBζCAR can be produced using a vector in which the CAR open reading frame is followed by a T2A ribosome skip sequence and a truncated CD19 (CD19t), which lacks the cytoplasmic signaling tail (truncated at amino acid 323). In this arrangement, co-expression of CD19t provides an inert, non-immunogenic surface marker that allows for accurate measurement of gene modified cells, and enables positive selection of gene-modified cells, as well as efficient cell tracking and/or imaging of the therapeutic T cells in vivo following adoptive transfer. Co-expression of CD19t provides a marker for immunological targeting of the transduced cells in vivo using clinically available antibodies and/or immunotoxin reagents to selectively delete the therapeutic cells, and thereby functioning as a suicide switch.

Gliomas, express IL13 receptors, and in particular, high-affinity IL13 receptors. However, unlike the IL13 receptor, glioma cells overexpress a unique IL13Rα2 chain capable of binding IL13 independently of the requirement for IL4RP or yc44. Like its homolog IL4, IL13 has pleotropic immunoregulatory activity outside the CNS. Both IL13 and IL4 stimulate IgE production by B lymphocytes and suppress pro-inflammatory cytokine production by macrophages.

Detailed studies using autoradiography with radiolabeled IL13 have demonstrated abundant IL13 binding on nearly all malignant glioma tissues studied. This binding is highly homogeneous within tumor sections and in single cell analysis. However, molecular probe analysis specific for IL13Rα2 mRNA did not detect expression of the glioma-specific receptor by normal brain elements and autoradiography with radiolabeled IL13 also could not detect specific IL13 binding in the normal CNS. These studies suggest that the shared IL13Rα1/IL4β/γc receptor is not expressed detectably in the normal CNS. Therefore, IL13Rα2 is a very specific cell-surface target for glioma and is a suitable target for a CAR designed for treatment of a glioma.

Binding of IL13-based therapeutic molecules to the broadly expressed IL13Rα1/IL4β/γc receptor complex, however, has the potential of mediating undesired toxicities to normal tissues outside the CNS, and thus limits the systemic administration of these agents. An amino acid substitution in the IL13 alpha helix A at amino acid 13 of tyrosine for the native glutamic acid selectively reduces the affinity of IL13 to the IL13Rα1/IL4β/γc receptor. Binding of this mutant (termed IL13(E13Y)) to IL13Rα2, however, was increased relative to wild-type IL13. Thus, this minimally altered IL13 analog simultaneously increases IL13's specificity and affinity for glioma cells. Therefore, CAR described herein include an IL13 containing a mutation (E to Y or E to some other amino acid such as K or R or L or V) at amino acid 13 (according to the numbering of Debinski et al. 1999 Clin Cancer Res 5:3143s). IL13 having the natural sequence also may be used, however, and can be useful, particularly in situations where the modified T cells are to be locally administered, such as by injection directly into a tumor mass.

The CAR described herein can be produced by any means known in the art, though preferably it is produced using recombinant DNA techniques. Nucleic acids encoding the several regions of the chimeric receptor can be prepared and assembled into a complete coding sequence by standard techniques of molecular cloning known in the art (genomic library screening, PCR, primer-assisted ligation, site-directed mutagenesis, etc.) as is convenient. The resulting coding region is preferably inserted into an expression vector and used to transform a suitable expression host cell line, preferably a T lymphocyte cell line, and most preferably an autologous T lymphocyte cell line.

Various T cell subsets isolated from the patient, including unselected PBMC or enriched CD3 T cells or enriched CD3 or memory T cell subsets, can be transduced with a vector for CAR expression. Central memory T cells are one useful T cell subset. Central memory T cell can be isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) by selecting for CD45RO+/CD62L+ cells, using, for example, the CliniMACS® device to immunomagnetically select cells expressing the desired receptors. The cells enriched for central memory T cells can be activated with anti-CD3/CD28, transduced with, for example, a SIN lentiviral vector that directs the expression of an IL13Rα2-specific CAR (e.g., IL13(EQ)BBζ) as well as a truncated human CD19 (CD19t), a non-immunogenic surface marker for both in vivo detection and potential ex vivo selection. The activated/genetically modified central memory T cells can be expanded in vitro with IL-2/IL-15 and then cryopreserved.

Example 1: Construction and Structure of an IL13Rα2-Specific CAR

The structure of a useful IL13Rα2-specific CAR is described below. The codon optimized CAR sequence contains a membrane-tethered IL-13 ligand mutated at a single site (E13Y) to reduce potential binding to IL13Rα1, an IgG4 Fc spacer containing two mutations (L235E; N297Q) that greatly reduce Fc receptor-mediated recognition models, a CD4 transmembrane domain, a costimulatory 4-1BB cytoplasmic signaling domain, and a CD3ζ cytoplasmic signaling domain. A T2A ribosome skip sequence separates this IL13(EQ)BBζ CAR sequence from CD19t, an inert, non-immunogenic cell surface detection/selection marker. This T2A linkage results in the coordinate expression of both IL13(EQ)BBζ and CD19t from a single transcript. FIG. 2A is a schematic drawing of the 2670 nucleotide open reading frame encoding the IL13(EQ)BBZ-T2ACD19t construct. In this drawing, the IL13Rα2-specific ligand IL13(E13Y), IgG4(EQ) Fc, CD4 transmembrane, 4-1BB cytoplasmic signaling, three-glycine linker, and CD3ζ cytoplasmic signaling domains of the IL13(EQ)BBZ CAR, as well as the T2A ribosome skip and truncated CD19 sequences are all indicated. The human GM-CSF receptor alpha and CD19 signal sequences that drive surface expression of the IL13(EQ)BBZ CAR and CD19t are also indicated. Thus, the IL13(EQ)BBZ-T2ACD19t construct includes a IL13Rα2-specific, hinge-optimized, costimulatory chimeric immunoreceptor sequence (designated IL13(EQ)BBZ), a ribosome-skip T2A sequence, and a CD19t sequence.

The IL13(EQ)BBZ sequence was generated by fusion of the human GM-CSF receptor alpha leader peptide with IL13(E13Y) ligand 5 L235E/N297Q-modified IgG4 Fc hinge (where the double mutation interferes with FcR recognition), CD4 transmembrane, 4-1BB cytoplasmic signaling domain, and CD3ζ cytoplasmic signaling domain sequences. This sequence was synthesized de novo after codon optimization. The T2A sequence was obtained from digestion of a T2A-containing plasmid. The CD19t sequence was obtained from that spanning the leader peptide sequence to the transmembrane components (i.e., basepairs 1-972) of a CD19-containing plasmid. All three fragments, 1) IL13(EQ)BBZ, 2) T2A, and 3) CD19t, were cloned into the multiple cloning site of the epHIV7 lentiviral vector. When transfected into appropriate cells, the vector integrates the sequence depicted schematically in FIG. 2B into the host cells genome. FIG. 2C provides a schematic drawing of the 9515 basepair IL13(EQ)BBZ-T2A-CD19t_epHIV7 plasmid itself.

As shown schematically in FIG. 1, IL13(EQ)BBZ CAR differs in several important respects from a previously described IL13Rα2-specific CAR referred to as IL13(E13Y)-zetakine (Brown et al. 2012 Clinical Cancer Research 18:2199). The IL13(E13Y)-zetakine is composed of the IL13Rα2-specific human IL-13 mutein (huIL-13(E13Y)), human IgG4 Fc spacer (huγ4Fc), human CD4 transmembrane (huCD4 tm), and human CD3ζ chain cytoplasmic (huCD3ζ cyt) portions as indicated. In contrast, the IL13(EQ)BBζ) has two point mutations, L235E and N297Q that are located in the CH2 domain of the IgG4 spacer, and a costimulatory 4-1BB cytoplasmic domain (4-1BB cyt).

Example 2: Construction and Structure of epHIV7 Used for Expression of an IL13Rα2-Specific CAR

The pHIV7 plasmid is the parent plasmid from which the clinical vector IL13(EQ)BBZ-T2A-CD19t_epHIV7 was derived in the T cell Therapeutics Research Laboratory (TCTRL) at City of Hope (COH). The epHIV7 vector used for expression of the CAR was produced from pHIV7 vector. Importantly, this vector uses the human EF1 promoter to drive expression of the CAR. Both the 5′ and 3′ sequences of the vector were derived from pv653RSN as previously derived from the HXBc2 provirus. The polypurine tract DNA flap sequences (cPPT) were derived from HIV-1 strain pNL4-3 from the NIH AIDS Reagent Repository. The woodchuck post-transcriptional regulatory element (WPRE) sequence was previously described.

Construction of pHIV7 is schematically depicted in FIG. 3. Briefly, pv653RSN, containing 653 bp from gag-pol plus 5′ and 3′ long-terminal repeats (LTRs) with an intervening SL3-neomycin phosphotransferase gene (Neo), was subcloned into pBluescript, as follows: In Step 1, the sequences from 5′ LTR to rev-responsive element (RRE) made p5′HIV-1 51, and then the 5′ LTR was modified by removing sequences upstream of the TATA box, and ligated first to a CMV enhancer and then to the SV40 origin of replication (p5′HIV-2). In Step 2, after cloning the 3′ LTR into pBluescript to make p3′HIV-1, a 400-bp deletion in the 3′ LTR enhancer/promoter was made to remove cis-regulatory elements in HIV U3 and form p3′HIV-2. In Step 3, fragments isolated from the p5′HIV-3 and p3′HIV-2 were ligated to make pHIV-3. In Step 4, the p3′HIV-2 was further modified by removing extra upstream HIV sequences to generate p3′HIV-3 and a 600-bp BamHI-SalI fragment containing WPRE was added to p3′HIV-3 to make the p3′HIV-4. In Step 5, the pHIV-3 RRE was reduced in size by PCR and ligated to a 5′ fragment from pHIV-3 (not shown) and to the p3′HIV-4, to make pHIV-6. In Step 6, a 190-bp BglII-BamHI fragment containing the cPPT DNA flap sequence from HIV-1 pNL4-3 (55) was amplified from pNL4-3 and placed between the RRE and the WPRE sequences in pHIV6 to make pHIV-7. This parent plasmid pHIV7-GFP (GFP, green fluorescent protein) was used to package the parent vector using a four-plasmid system.

A packaging signal, psi w, is required for efficient packaging of viral genome into the vector. The RRE and WPRE enhance the RNA transcript transport and expression of the transgene. The flap sequence, in combination with WPRE, has been demonstrated to enhance the transduction efficiency of lentiviral vector in mammalian cells.

The helper functions, required for production of the viral vector), are divided into three separate plasmids to reduce the probability of generation of replication competent lentivirus via recombination: 1) pCgp encodes the gag/pol protein required for viral vector assembly; 2) pCMV-Rev2 encodes the Rev protein, which acts on the RRE sequence to assist in the transportation of the viral genome for efficient packaging; and 3) pCMV-G encodes the glycoprotein of the vesiculo-stomatitis virus (VSV), which is required for infectivity of the viral vector.

There is minimal DNA sequence homology between the pHIV7 encoded vector genome and the helper plasmids. The regions of homology include a packaging signal region of approximately 600 nucleotides, located in the gag/pol sequence of the pCgp helper plasmid; a CMV promoter sequence in all three helper plasmids; and a RRE sequence in the helper plasmid pCgp. It is highly improbable that replication competent recombinant virus could be generated due to the homology in these regions, as it would require multiple recombination events. Additionally, any resulting recombinants would be missing the functional LTR and tat sequences required for lentiviral replication.

The CMV promoter was replaced by the EF1α-HTLV promoter (EF1p), and the new plasmid was named epHIV7 (FIG. 4). The EF1p has 563 bp and was introduced into epHIV7 using NruI and NheI, after the CMV promoter was excised.

The lentiviral genome, excluding gag/pol and rev that are necessary for the pathogenicity of the wild-type virus and are required for productive infection of target cells, has been removed from this system. In addition, the IL13(EQ)BBZ-T2ACD19t_epHIV7 vector construct does not contain an intact 3′LTR promoter, so the resulting expressed and reverse transcribed DNA proviral genome in targeted cells will have inactive LTRs. As a result of this design, no HIV-I derived sequences will be transcribed from the provirus and only the therapeutic sequences will be expressed from their respective promoters. The removal of the LTR promoter activity in the SIN vector is expected to significantly reduce the possibility of unintentional activation of host genes (56). Table 4 summarizes the various regulator elements present in IL13(EQ)BBZ-T2ACD19t_epHIV7.

TABLE 4 Functional elements of IL13(EQ)41BBZ-T2A-CD19t_epHIV7 Location Regulatory Elements (Nucleotide and Genes Numbers) Comments U5  87-171 5′ Unique sequence psi 233-345 Packaging signal RRE  957-1289 Rev-responsive element flap 1290-1466 Contains polypurine track sequence and central termination sequence to facilitate nuclear import of pre-integration complex EF1p Promoter 1524-2067 EF1-alpha Eukaryotic Promoter sequence driving expression of CD19Rop IL13-IgG4 (EQ)- 2084-4753 Therapeutic insert 41BB-Zeta-T2A- CD19t WPRE 4790-5390 Woodchuck hepatitis virus derived regulatory element to enhance viral RNA transportation delU3 5405-5509 3′ U3 with deletion to generate SIN vector R 5510-5590 Repeat sequence within LTR U5 5591-5704 3′ U5 sequence in LTR Amp^(R) 6540-7398 Ampicillin-resistance gene CoE1 ori 7461-8342 Replication origin of plasmid SV40 ori 8639-8838 Replication origin of SV40 CMV promoter 8852-9451 CMV promoter to generate viral genome RNA R 9507-86  Repeat sequence within LTR

Example 3: Production of Vectors for Transduction of Patient T Cells

For each plasmid (IL13(EQ)BBZ-T2A-CD19t_epHIV7; pCgp; pCMV-G; and pCMV-Rev2), a seed bank is generated, which is used to inoculate the fermenter to produce sufficient quantities of plasmid DNA. The plasmid DNA is tested for identity, sterility and endotoxin prior to its use in producing lentiviral vector.

Briefly, cells were expanded from the 293T working cell (WCB), which has been tested to confirm sterility and the absence of viral contamination. A vial of 293T cells from the 293T WCB was thawed. Cells were grown and expanded until sufficient numbers of cells existed to plate an appropriate number of 10 layer cell factories (CFs) for vector production and cell train maintenance. A single train of cells can be used for production.

The lentiviral vector was produced in sub-batches of up to 10 CFs. Two sub-batches can be produced in the same week leading to the production of approximately 20 L of lentiviral supernatant/week. The material produced from all sub-batches were pooled during the downstream processing phase, in order to produce one lot of product. 293T cells were plated in CFs in 293T medium (DMEM with 10% FBS). Factories were placed in a 37° C. incubator and horizontally leveled in order to get an even distribution of the cells on all the layers of the CF. Two days later, cells were transfected with the four lentiviral plasmids described above using the CaPO4 method, which involves a mixture of Tris:EDTA, 2M CaCl2, 2×HBS, and the four DNA plasmids. Day 3 after transfection, the supernatant containing secreted lentiviral vectors was collected, purified and concentrated. After the supernatant was removed from the CFs, End-of-Production Cells were collected from each CF. Cells were trypsinized from each factory and collected by centrifugation. Cells were resuspended in freezing medium and cryopreserved. These cells were later used for replication-competent lentivirus (RCL) testing.

To purify and formulate vectors crude supernatant was clarified by membrane filtration to remove the cell debris. The host cell DNA and residual plasmid DNA were degraded by endonuclease digestion (Benzonase®). The viral supernatant was clarified of cellular debris using a 0.45 μm filter. The clarified supernatant was collected into a pre-weighed container into which the Benzonase® is added (final concentration 50 U/mL). The endonuclease digestion for residual plasmid DNA and host genomic DNA as performed at 37° C. for 6 h. The initial tangential flow ultrafiltration (TFF) concentration of the endonuclease-treated supernatant was used to remove residual low molecular weight components from the crude supernatant, while concentrating the virus ˜20 fold. The clarified endonuclease-treated viral supernatant was circulated through a hollow fiber cartridge with a NMWCO of 500 kD at a flow rate designed to maintain the shear rate at ˜4,000 sec-1 or less, while maximizing the flux rate. Diafiltration of the nuclease-treated supernatant was initiated during the concentration process to sustain the cartridge performance. An 80% permeate replacement rate was established, using 4% lactose in PBS as the diafiltration buffer. The viral supernatant was brought to the target volume, representing a 20-fold concentration of the crude supernatant, and the diafiltration was continued for 4 additional exchange volumes, with the permeate replacement rate at 100%.

Further concentration of the viral product was accomplished by using a high speed centrifugation technique. Each sub-batch of the lentivirus was pelleted using a Sorvall RC-26 plus centrifuge at 6000 RPM (6,088 RCF) at 6° C. for 16-20 h. The viral pellet from each sub-batch was then reconstituted in a 50 mL volume with 4% lactose in PBS. The reconstituted pellet in this buffer represents the final formulation for the virus preparation. The entire vector concentration process resulted in a 200-fold volume reduction, approximately. Following the completion of all of the sub-batches, the material was then placed at −80° C., while samples from each sub-batch were tested for sterility. Following confirmation of sample sterility, the sub-batches were rapidly thawed at 37° C. with frequent agitation. The material was then pooled and manually aliquoted in the Class II Type A/B3 biosafety cabinet in the viral vector suite. A fill configuration of 1 mL of the concentrated lentivirus in sterile USP class 6, externally threaded O-ring cryovials was used. Center for Applied Technology Development (CATD)'s Quality Systems (QS) at COH released all materials according to the Policies and Standard Operating Procedures for the CBG and in compliance with current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs).

To ensure the purity of the lentiviral vector preparation, it was tested for residual host DNA contaminants, and the transfer of residual host and plasmid DNA. Among other tests, vector identity was evaluated by RT-PCR to ensure that the correct vector is present. All release criteria were met for the vector intended for use in this study.

Example 4: Preparation of T Cells Suitable for Use in ACT

T lymphocytes are obtained from a patient by leukopheresis, and the appropriate allogenic or autologous T cell subset, for example, Central Memory T cells (T_(CM)), are genetically altered to express the CAR, then administered back to the patient by any clinically acceptable means, to achieve anti-cancer therapy.

An outline of the manufacturing strategy for T_(CM) is depicted in FIG. 8 (Manufacturing schema for IL13(EQ)BBζ/CD19t+T_(CM)). Specifically, apheresis products obtained from consented research participants are ficolled, washed and incubated overnight. Cells are then depleted of monocyte, regulatory T cell and naïve T cell populations using GMP grade anti-CD14, anti-CD25 and anti-CD45RA reagents (Miltenyi Biotec) and the CliniMACS™ separation device. Following depletion, negative fraction cells are enriched for CD62L+T_(CM) cells using DREG56-biotin (COH clinical grade) and anti-biotin microbeads (Miltenyi Biotec) on the CliniMACS™ separation device.

Following enrichment, T_(CM) cells are formulated in complete X-Vivo15 plus 50 IU/mL IL-2 and 0.5 ng/mL IL-15 and transferred to a Teflon cell culture bag, where they are stimulated with Dynal ClinEx™ Vivo CD3/CD28 beads. Up to five days after stimulation, cells are transduced with IL13(EQ)BBZ-T2A-CD19t_epHIV7 lentiviral vector at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 1.0 to 0.3. Cultures are maintained for up to 42 days with addition of complete X-Vivo15 and IL-2 and IL-15 cytokine as required for cell expansion (keeping cell density between 3×10⁵ and 2×10⁶ viable cells/mL, and cytokine supplementation every Monday, Wednesday and Friday of culture). Cells typically expand to approximately 10⁹ cells under these conditions within 21 days. At the end of the culture period cells are harvested, washed twice and formulated in clinical grade cryopreservation medium (Cryostore CS5, BioLife Solutions).

On the day(s) of T cell infusion, the cryopreserved and released product is thawed, washed and formulated for re-infusion. The cryopreserved vials containing the released cell product are removed from liquid nitrogen storage, thawed, cooled and washed with a PBS/2% human serum albumin (HSA) Wash Buffer. After centrifugation, the supernatant is removed and the cells resuspended in a Preservative-Free Normal Saline (PFNS)/2% HSA infusion diluent. Samples are removed for quality control testing.

Two qualification runs on cells procured from healthy donors were performed using the manufacturing platform described above. Each preclinical qualification run product was assigned a human donor (HD) number—HD006.5 and HD187.1. Importantly, as shown in Table 5, these qualification runs expanded >80 fold within 28 days and the expanded cells expressed the IL13(EQ)BBγ/CD19t transgenes.

TABLE 5 Summary of Expression Data from Pre-clinical Qualification Run Product Cell Product CAR CD19 CD4+ CD8+ Fold Expansion HD006.5 20% 22% 24% 76%  84-fold (28 days) Hd187.1 18% 25% 37% 63% 259-fold (28 days)

Example 5: Flow Cytometric Analysis of Surface Transgene and T Cell Marker Expression in IL13(EQ)BBγ/CD19t+T_(CM)

The two preclinical qualification run products described in Example 4 were used in pre-clinical studies to as described below. FIGS. 6A-C depict the results of flow cytometric analysis of surface transgene and T cell marker expression. IL13(EQ)BBγ/CD19t+T_(CM) HD006.5 and HD187.1 were co-stained with anti-IL13-PE and anti-CD8-FITC to detect CD8+ CAR+ and CD4+(i.e., CD8 negative) CAR+ cells (FIG. 6A), or anti-CD19-PE and anti-CD4-FITC to detect CD4+CD19t+ and CD8+(i.e., CD4 negative) CAR+ cells (FIG. 6B). IL13(EQ)BBγ/CD19t+T_(CM) HD006.5 and HD187.1 were stained with fluorochrome-conjugated anti-CD3, TCR, CD4, CD8, CD62L and CD28 (grey histograms) or isotype controls (black histograms). (FIG. 6C). In each of FIGS. 6A-C, the percentages indicated are based on viable lymphocytes (DAPI negative) stained above isotype.

Example 6: Effector Activity of IL13(EQ)BBγ/CD19t+T_(CM)

The effector activity of IL13(EQ)BBζ/CD19t+T_(CM) was assessed and the results of this analysis are depicted in FIGS. 7A-B. Briefly, IL13(EQ)BBγ/CD19t+T_(CM) HD006.5 and HD187.1 were used as effectors in a 6-hour 51Cr-release assay using a 10E:1T ratio based on CD19t expression. The IL13Rα2-positive tumor targets were K562 engineered to express IL13Rα2 (K562-IL13Rα2) and primary glioma line PBT030-2, and the IL13Rα2-negative tumor target control was the K562 parental line (FIG. 7A). IL13(EQ)BBγ/CD19t+HD006.5 and HD187.1 were evaluated for antigen-dependent cytokine production following overnight co-culture at a 10E:1T ratio with the same IL13Rα2-positive and negative targets as described in above. Cytokine levels were measured using the Bio-Plex Pro Human Cytokine TH1/TH2 Assay kit and INF-γ levels are depicted (FIG. 7B).

Example 7: In Vivo Anti-Tumor Activity of IL13(EQ)BBγ/CD19t+T_(CM)

The studies described below demonstrate that IL13(EQ)BBγ/CD19t+T_(CM) exhibit anti-tumor efficacy in in vivo mouse models. Specifically, we have evaluated the anti-tumor potency of IL13(EQ)BBγ/CD19t+T_(CM) against the IL13Rα2+ primary low-passage glioblastoma tumor sphere line PBT030-2, which has been engineered to express both EGFP and firefly luciferase (ffLuc) reporter genes (PBT030-2 EGFP:ffLuc) (6). A panel of primary lines (PBT) from patient glioblastoma specimens grown as tumor spheres (TSs) in serum-free media. These expanded TS lines exhibit stem cell-like characteristics, including expression of stem cell markers, multilineage differentiation and capacity to initiate orthotopic tumors in immunocompromised mice (NSG) at low cell numbers. The PBT030-2 EGFP:ffLuc TS-initiated xenograft model (0.1×10⁶ cells; 5 day engraftment) has been previously used to evaluate in vivo anti-tumor activity in NSG mice of IL13Rα2-specific CAR expressing T cells, whereby three injections of 2×10⁶ cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTLs) over a course of 2 weeks were shown to reduce tumor growth. However, in those experiments the majority of the PBT030-2 tumors eventually recurred. By comparison, a single injection of IL13(EQ)BBγ/CD19t+T_(CM) (1.1×10⁶ CAR+T_(CM); 2×10⁶ total TCM) exhibited robust anti-tumor activity against PBT030-2 EGFP:ffLuc TS-initiated tumors (0.1×10⁶ cells; 5 day engraftment) as shown in FIGS. 8A-C. As compared to NSG mice treated with either PBS or mock transduced T_(CM) (no CAR), IL13(EQ)BBγ/CD19t+T_(CM) significantly reduce ffLuc flux (p<0.001 at >18-days) and significantly improve survival (p=0.0008).

Briefly, EGFP-ffLuc+ PBT030-2 tumor cells (1×10⁵) were stereotactically implanted into the right forebrain of NSG mice. On day 5, mice received either 2×10⁶ IL13(EQ)BBγ/CD19t+T_(CM) (1.1×106 CAR+; n=6), 2×10⁶ mock T_(CM) (no CAR; n=6) or PBS (n=6). FIG. 8A depicts representative mice from each group showing relative tumor burden using Xenogen Living Image. Quantification of ffLuc flux (photons/sec) shows that IL13(EQ)BBζ/CD19t+T_(CM) induce tumor regression as compared to mock-transduced T_(CM) and PBS (# p<0.02, *p<0.001, repeated measures ANOVA) (FIG. 8B). As shown in FIG. 8C, a Kaplan Meier survival curve (n=6 per group) demonstrates significantly improved survival (p=0.0008; log-rank test) for mice treated with IL13(EQ)BBγ/CD19t+T_(CM).

Example 8: Comparison of IL13(EQ)BBζ+Tcm and Non-Tcm IL13-Zetakine CD8+ CTL Clones in Antitumor Efficacy and T Cell Persistence

The studies described below compare IL13(EQ)BBζ+Tcm and a previously created IL13Rα2-specific human CD8+ CTLs (IL13-zetakine CD8+ CTL (described in Brown et al. 2012 Clin Cancer Res 18:2199 and Kahlon et al. 2004 Cancer Res 64:9160). The IL13-zetakine uses a CD3 stimulatory domain, lacks a co-stimulatory domain and uses the same IL13 variant as IL13(EQ)BBζ+.

A panel of primary lines (PBT) from patient glioblastoma specimens grown as tumor spheres (TSs) in serum-free media was generated (Brown et al. 2012 Clin Cancer Res 18:2199; Brown et al. 2009 Cancer Res 69:8886). These expanded TS lines exhibit stem cell-like characteristics, including expression of stem cell markers, multi-lineage differentiation and capacity to initiate orthotopic tumors in immunocompromised mice (NSG) at low cell numbers. The IL13Rα2+ primary low-passage glioblastoma TS line PBT030-2, which has been engineered to express both EGFP and firefly luciferase (ffLuc) reporter genes (PBT030-2 EGFP:ffLuc) (Brown et al. 2012 Clin Cancer Res 18:2199) was used for the experiments outlined below.

First, a single dose (1×10⁶ CAR T cells) of IL13(EQ)BBζ+Tcm product was compared to IL13-zetakine CD8+ CTL clones evaluated against day 8 PBT030-2 EGFP:ffuc TS-initiated xenografts (0.1×10⁶ cells). While both IL13Rα2-specific CAR T cells (IL13-zetakine CTL and IL13(EQ)BBζ Tcm) demonstrated antitumor activity against established PBT030-2 tumors as compared to untreated and mock Tcm (CAR-negative) controls (FIGS. 9A and 9B), IL13(EQ)BBζ+ Tcm mediated significantly improved survival and durable tumor remission with mice living >150 days as compared to our first-generation IL13-zetakine CD8+ CTL clones (FIG. 9C).

To further compare the therapeutic effectiveness of these two IL13Rα2-CAR T cell products, a dose titration of 1.0, 0.3 and 0.1×10⁶ CART cells against day 8 PBT030-2 EGFP:ffuc TS-initiated tumors was performed (FIGS. 10A-C). The highest dose (1×10⁶) of IL13-zetakine CD8+ CTL cl. 2D7 mediated antitumor responses as measured by Xenogen flux in 3 of 6 animals (FIG. 10C), but no significant antitumor responses were observed at lower CAR T cell doses. By comparison, injection of IL13(EQ)BBζ+Tcm product mediated complete tumor regression in the majority of mice at all dose levels, including treatment with as few as 0.1×10⁶ CAR T cells. These data demonstrate that IL13(EQ)BBζ+Tcm is at least 10-fold more potent than IL13-zetakine CD8+ CTL clones in antitumor efficacy. The improved anti-tumor efficacy of is due to improved T cell persistence in the tumor microenvironment. Evaluation of CD3+ T cells 7-days post i.c. injection revealed significant numbers of IL13(EQ)BBζ+ Tcm in the tumor microenvironment, whereas very few first-generation IL13-zeta CTLs were present (FIG. 11).

Example 9: Comparison of CAR T Cell Delivery Route for Treatment of Large TS-Initiated PBT Tumors

Described below are studies that compare the route of delivery, intraveneous (i.v.) or intracranial (i.c.), on antitumor activity against invasive primary PBT lines. In pilot studies (data not shown), it was unexpectedly observed that i.v. administered IL13(EQ)BBζ+ Tcm provided no therapeutic benefit as compared to PBS for the treatment of small (day 5) PBT030-2 EGFP:ffLuc tumors. This is in contrast to the robust therapeutic efficacy observed with i.c. administered CAR+ T cells. Reasoning that day 5 PBT030-2 tumors may have been too small to recruit therapeutic T cells from the periphery, a comparison was made of i.v. versus i.c. delivery against larger day 19 PBT030-2 EGFP:ffLuc tumors. For these studies, PBT030-2 engrafted mice were treated with either two i.v. infusions (5×10⁶ CAR+ Tcm; days 19 and 26) or four i.c. infusions (1×10⁶ CAR+ Tcm; days 19, 22, 26 and 29) of IL13(EQ)BBZ+ Tcm, or mock Tcm (no CAR). Here too no therapeutic benefit as monitored by Xenogen imaging or Kaplan-Meier survival analysis for i.v. administered CAR+ T cells (FIGS. 12A and 12B). In contrast, potent antitumor activity was observed for i.c. administered IL13(EQ)BBζ+Tcm (FIGS. 12A-B). Next, brains from a cohort of mice 7 days post T cell injection were harvested and evaluated for CD3+ human T cells by IHC. Surprisingly, for mice treated i.v. with either mock Tcm or IL13(EQ)BBζ Tcm there were no detectable CD3+ human T cells in the tumor or in others mouse brain regions where human T cells typically reside (i.e. the leptomeninges) (FIG. 12C), suggesting a deficit in tumor tropism. This is in contrast to the significant number of T cells detected in the i.c. treated mice (FIG. 12D).

Tumor derived cytokines, particularly MCP-1/CCL2, are important in recruiting T cells to the tumor. Thus, PBT030-2 tumor cells were evaluated and it was found that this line produces high levels of MCP-1/CCL2 comparable to U251T cells (data not shown), a glioma line previously shown to attract i.v. administered effector CD8+ T cells to i.c. engrafted tumors. Malignant gliomas are highly invasive tumors and are often multi-focal in presentation. The studies described above establish that IL13BBZ T_(CM) can eliminate infiltrated tumors such as PBT030-2, and mediate long-term durable antitumor activity. The capacity of intracranially delivered CAR T cells to traffic to multifocal disease was also examined. For this study PBT030-2 EGFP:ffLuc TSs were implanted in both the left and right hemispheres (FIG. 13A) and CAR+ T cells were injected only at the right tumor site. Encouragingly, for all mice evaluated (n=3) we detected T cells by CD3 IHC 7-days post T cell infusion both at the site of injection (i.e. right tumor), as well within the tumor on the left hemisphere (FIG. 13B). These findings provide evidence that CAR+ T cells are able to traffic to and infiltrate tumor foci at distant sites. Similar findings were also observed in a second tumor model using the U251T glioma cell line (data not shown).

Example 10: Comparison of Costimulatory Domains

A series of studies were conducted to evaluate various costimulatory domains. The various CAR evaluated are depicted schematically in FIG. 14A and included a first generation CD3ζ CAR lacking a costimulatory domain, two second generation CARs incorporating either a 4-1BB costimulatory domain or a CD28 costimulatory domain, and a third generation CAR containing both a CD28 costimulatory domain and 41BB costimulatory domain. All CAR constructs also contain the T2A ribosomal skip sequence and a truncated CD19 (CD19t) sequence as a marker for transduced cells.

CD4 and CD8 T_(CM) were lentivirally transduced and CAR-expressing T cells were immunomagnetically enriched via anti-CD19. CD19 and IL13 (i.e., CAR) expression levels as measured by flow cytometry. The results are shown in FIG. 14B. Stability of each CAR construct was determined by dividing the CAR (IL13) mean flourescence intensity (MFI) by that of the transduction marker (CD19t) (FIG. 14C). The two CAR including a 4-1BB costimulatory domain exhibited the lowest expression levels as compared to the CD19t transduction marker.

The ability of the indicated mock-transduced or CAR-expressing T cells to kill IL13Rα2-expressing PBT030-2 tumor cell targets was determined in a 4-hour ⁵¹Cr-release assay at the indicated effector:target ratios. The results of this study are in FIG. 15A (mean % chromium release±S.D. of triplicate wells are depicted). As expected, mock-transduced T cells did not efficiently lyse the targets. In contrast, all CAR-expressing T cells lysed the tumor cells in a similar manner. FIG. 15B depicts the results of a study in which the indicated mock-transduced or CAR-expressing T cells were co-cultured overnight with IL13Rα2-expressing PBT030-2 tumor cells at a 10:1 ratio and supernatants were analyzed for IL-13 and IFN-γ levels by cytometric bead array. Interestingly, T cells expressing the zeta, 41BB-zeta or CD28-41BB-zeta CARs exhibited lower antigen-stimulated cytokine production than T cells expressing the CD28-zeta CAR.

The in vivo efficacy of the various CAR was examined as follows. Briefly, NSG mice received an intracranial injection of ffLuc+ PBT030-2 tumor cells on day 0, and were randomized into 6 groups (n=9-10 mice per group) for i.c. treatment with either PBS (Tumor Only), mock-transduced T cells or T cells expressing the indicated IL13Rα2-specific CAR on day 8. Quantitative bioluminescence imaging was then carried out to monitor tumor growth over time. Bioluminescence images for representative mice in each group (FIG. 16A). Flux levels for each mouse at Day 27 (FIG. 16B). All groups treated with IL13Rα2-specific CAR T cells, except those treated with T cells expressing the CD28-CAR, show statistically-significant reduction in tumor volume compared to mice treated with mock-transduced T cells (FIG. 16C).

Example 11: Amino acid Sequence of IL13(EQ)BBζ/CD19t

The complete amino acid sequence of IL13(EQ)BBζ/CD19t is depicted in FIGS. 17A-B. The entire sequence (SEQ ID NO:1) includes: a 22 amino acid GMCSF signal peptide (SEQ ID NO:2), a 112 amino acid IL-13 sequence (SEQ ID NO:3; amino acid substitution E13Y shown in bold); a 229 amino acid IgG4 sequence (SEQ ID NO:4; with amino acid substitutions L235E and N297Q shown in bold); a 22 amino acid CD4 transmembrane sequence (SEQ ID NO:5); a 42 amino acid 4-1BB sequence (SEQ ID NO:6); a 3 amino acid Gly linker; a 112 amino acid CD3ζ sequence (SEQ ID NO:7); a 24 amino acid T2A sequence (SEQ ID NO:8); and a 323 amino acid CD19t sequence (SEQ ID NO:9).

The mature chimeric antigen receptor sequence (SEQ ID NO:10) includes: a 112 amino acid IL-13 sequence (SEQ ID NO:3; amino acid substitution E13Y shown in bold); a 229 amino acid IgG4 sequence (SEQ ID NO:4; with amino acid substitutions L235E and N297Q shown in bold); at 22 amino acid CD4 sequence (SEQ ID NO:5); a 42 amino acid 4-1BB sequence (SEQ ID NO:6); a 3 amino acid Gly linker; and a 112 amino acid CD3ζ sequence (SEQ ID NO:7). Within this CAR sequence (SEQ ID NO:10) is the IL-13/IgG4/CD4t/41-BB sequence (SEQ ID NO:11), which includes: a 112 amino acid IL-13 sequence (SEQ ID NO:3; amino acid substitution E13Y shown in bold); a 229 amino acid IgG4 sequence (SEQ ID NO:4; with amino acid substitutions L235E and N297Q shown in bold); at 22 amino acid CD4 sequence (SEQ ID NO:5); and a 42 amino acid 4-1BB sequence (SEQ ID NO:6). The IL13/IgG4/CD4t/4-1BB sequence (SEQ ID NO:11) can be joined to the 112 amino acid CD3ζ sequence (SEQ ID NO:7) by a linker such as a Gly Gly Gly linker. The CAR sequence (SEQ ID NO:10) can be preceded by a 22 amino acid GMCSF signal peptide (SEQ ID NO:2).

FIGS. 18A-O depicts a comparison of the sequences of IL13(EQ)41BBζ[IL13{EQ}41BK T2A-CD19t_epHIV7; pF02630] (SEQ ID NO:12) and CD19Rop_epHIV7 (pJ01683) (SEQ ID NO:13).

Example 12: Amino Acid Sequence of IL13(EQ)BBζ/CD19t

FIGS. 19-26 depict the amino acid sequences of additional CAR directed against IL13Rα2 in each case the various domains are labelled except for the GlyGlyGly spacer located between certain intracellular domains. Each includes human IL13 with and Glu to Tyr (SEQ ID NO:3; amino acid substitution E13Y shown in highlighted). In the expression vector used to express these CAR, the amino acid sequence expressed can include a 24 amino acid T2A sequence (SEQ ID NO:8); and a 323 amino acid CD19t sequence (SEQ ID NO:9) to permit coordinated expression of a truncated CD19 sequence on the surface of CAR-expressing cells.

A panel of CAR comprising human IL13(E13Y) domain, a CD28 tm domain, a CD28gg costimulatory domain, a 4-1BB costimulatory domain, and a CD3ζ domain CAR backbone and including either a HL (22 amino acids) spacer, a CD8 hinge (48 amino acids) spacer, IgG4-HL-CH3 (129 amino acids) spacer or a IgG4(EQ) (229 amino acids) spacer were tested for their ability to mediate IL13Rα2-specific killing as evaluated in a 72-hour co-culture assay. With the exception of HL (22 amino acids) which appeared to have poor CAR expression in this system, all were active. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A population of human T cells transduced by a vector comprising an expression cassette encoding a chimeric antigen receptor, wherein chimeric antigen receptor comprises: a human IL-13 variant comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3 with up to 5 single amino acid substitutions, provided that the amino acid at position 11 of SEQ ID NO: 3 other than E; a transmembrane domain selected from: a CD4 transmembrane domain or variant thereof having 1-5 amino acid substations, a CD8 transmembrane domain or variant thereof having 1-5 amino acid substitutions, a CD28 transmembrane domain or a variant thereof having 1-5 amino acid substations, and a CD3 transmembrane domain or a variant thereof having 1-5 amino acid substitutions; a costimulatory domain selected from the group consisting of: a CD28 costimulatory domain or a variant thereof having 1-5 amino acid substitutions, a 4IBB costimulatory domain or a variant thereof having 1-5 amino acid substitutions and an OX40 costimulatory domain or a variant thereof having 1-5 amino acid substitutions; and CD3 ζ signaling domain of a variant thereof having 1-5 amino acid substitutions.
 2. The population of human T cells of claim 1, wherein the chimeric antigen receptor comprising an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs: 10, 31-48 and
 52. 3. The population of human T cells of claim 1, wherein the chimeric antigen receptor comprises SEQ ID NO:
 10. 4. A composition comprising T cells harboring a nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a chimeric antigen receptor molecule comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 10. 5. A composition of comprising T cells harboring an expression vector comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a chimeric antigen receptor molecule comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 10. 6. The composition of claim 5, wherein the expression vector is a lentiviral vector.
 7. The composition of claim 4, wherein the nucleic acid molecule further comprises a nucleotide sequence encoding a GMSCFRa signal sequence preceding the nucleotide sequence encoding the chimeric antigen receptor.
 8. The composition of claim 7, wherein the GMSCFRa signal sequence comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:2.
 9. The composition of claim 4, wherein the nucleic acid molecule further comprises a nucleotide sequence encoding a T2A ribosome skip sequence following the nucleotide sequence encoding the chimeric antigen receptor.
 10. The composition of claim 9, wherein T2A ribosome skip sequence comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:8.
 11. The composition of claim 9, wherein the nucleic acid molecule further comprises a nucleotide sequence encoding a truncated CD19 following the nucleotide sequence encoding the T2A ribosome skip sequence.
 12. The composition of claim 10, wherein the truncated CD19 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:9.
 13. The composition of claim 5, wherein the T cells comprise central memory T cells. 